© Copyright 2012
All work is property of Leah Crichton, any duplication or reproduction of all or part of the work without explicit permission by the author is illegal.
"Pick your jaw up, Rach."
Rachel sat on the bed, no longer interested in the magazine she'd been reading. "Oh my God. That's so romantic. He took the blame for you! Do you think Gabby bought it?"
"Doubtful," Alexa said. "I'm on house arrest until further notice and she took my cell phone away for the next forty-eight hours."
"Ouch," Rachel said. "Would you please stop pacing? My eyes are going to actually start vibrating if I keep having to follow you with them."
Alexa threw herself down on the desk chair, crossing her legs in hopes that the action would somehow stop them from wanting to move. "What do I do?"
Rachel set the magazine on the side table. "I don't know."
"Rachel, you're like an expert in these things, some advice, please."
"About the grounding?"
"About everything."
Rachel sucked in a breath. "Okay, first of all less on the advisory end of things and more on the pointing out the obvious end, you're insanely lucky to have a majorly hot guy wanting you. Secondly, he suffered the wrath of Gabby and he did it for you. I think I just fell in love with him. Thirdly, about the grounding, that doesn't really need to stop you. What you need to do is go. Run and show him how grateful you are."
Rachel snickered and Alexa knew precisely how she'd show her gratitude to Sawyer were she in Alexa's shoes. "What if Gabby finds out?"
"Oh please," Rachel waved her hand dismissively. "I'm here. I could win an Oscar for my performances. If that's what you're worried about, don't let it stop you."
"You'd cover for me?"
"Well that's a dumb question," Rachel said. "Of course I'll cover for you."
Alexa felt immediate guilt. She'd been less than hospitable to her friend and here, Rachel was willing to put herself in front of Gabby's tirade, all so Alexa could see Sawyer. "After I treated you badly, you'd still do that?"
Rachel nodded and picked up the TV remote. "There's a Julia Roberts marathon on tonight anyway. A little Pretty Woman, maybe some Steel Magnolias, but I'll be damned if I watch the Mexican."
"Rachel," Alexa said. "It's none of my business what happened with Robbie but for what it's worth, I'm sorry for how badly I reacted."
"You reacted exactly as I'd expect you to react," Rachel said. "Don't worry. Now go." Her eyes grew wide. "Go and stake your claim, before some other chick realizes how incredible he is."
With sudden courage, Alexa checked her hair in the mirror, smoothing her hands over the strays when Rachel laughed. "Wait." She climbed off the bed and walked over to her luggage, pulling out a pair of jeans and a black t-shirt and a small tube of lip gloss. "Everything you need to blow his mind is here."
Alexa took the jeans, noting the price tag was still affixed to the side. She nearly choked when she read the numbers. She didn't dare look at the t-shirt. "These haven't even been worn yet," Alexa said. "And they're True Religion." She didn't know much about brand names but she did know these were desired by many and possessed by few.
Rachel shrugged. "No biggie. Trust me, your ass is going to look spectacular."
Alexa blushed and quickly changed. The t-shirt Rachel had paired with the jeans was perfect. It sloped down so one shoulder was exposed and draped so her minimal curves were pronounced. "There," she said proudly, "how do I look?"
